What Do You Think Is the Best Way to Profit from Premium Content?

The former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Benjamin Disraeli, once said: “As a general rule, the most successful man in life is the man who has the best information”. As someone whose main source of income comes from writing, I have been pondering what the best way is for me to profit from sharing my knowledge with others (a topic which I briefly touched upon in last week’s income report).

There are a number of ways in which someone with experience can make a living. For example, you could help businesses solve technical problems that no one within their business could resolve. Alternatively, you could work as a consultant and give advice to individuals and companies to ensure that they follow the right path in their website development.

As I mentioned above, a lot of my income comes directly or indirectly from writing. Whilst I do plan on working one on one with people through consultation, I see most of my income over the next year coming from writing. And whilst I will continue to update this blog actively, I am keen on writing long guides that delve deeper into a subject.

Even with a featured posts page, I believe a lot of good content gets lost due to the chronological nature of blogging itself. Which is why I favour a different approach to publishing premium content that covers a subject completely.

There are three ways in which I can publish premium content:

Membership Website

Books

Release All Content Free on KevinMuldoon.com

Let’s look a little closer at the pros and cons of each method.

Membership Website

If you have ever signed up for any blogging or affiliate marketing type newsletter, you will be familiar with how membership websites work as they are heavily promoted. Membership websites usually cost between $49 and $299, however the most popular price point is $97. I have seen some websites offer a monthly payment option instead and dripped content to readers over a period of six months.

There are many reasons why membership websites are not cheaper. Firstly, the perceived value of any product is, in part, due its price. Therefore, many membership products have a higher perceived value simply because they are sold at a higher price.

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, a large percentage of sales of membership websites come from its affiliates. In an ideal world, all bloggers and marketers would have integrity and simply review each product honestly for their readers. Unfortunately, that is not how it works. Very few bloggers are going to recommend a membership website that costs $9.99 as they would only receive a $2.50 or $5 commission. Ask them to promote a $97 product that pays a $48 commission with every sale and you will see hundreds or thousands of reviews online within a matter of weeks. Additionally, if you can manage to persuade an affiliate marketer with a large email list to promote your website, you could potentially make tens of thousands of dollars.

From a profitability point of view, a membership website is the best way to sell premium content. At least in the short-term. If I launched the product correctly and found enough affiliates through marketplaces such as ClickBank, I could earn a large amount of money in a short space of time. This would give me the funds and free time to work on other projects.

As a customer, I cannot help but feel that some membership websites do not offer value. They bamboozle customers with sales and marketing talk and justify their cost with additional bonuses such as a few videos and interviews with key people from within their industry. In my opinion, these additional bonuses rarely offer extra value. Yet the system does work, particularly when they release the product on a limited basis in order to make the perceived value of the product even higher.

Of course, the value of a product depends on the person who is buying it. If you join a membership website and get all the answers you need: $97 is good value for money. Particularly when you compare the cost of the membership website to spending weeks or months finding the same information.

What does surprise me is how small some membership websites are. It is not uncommon for a product to have less than ten thousand words, divided into twenty to thirty smaller articles (in comparison, my book The Art of Freelance Blogging has around 70,000 words and normally sells for around $3-$5). I do not see any benefit to writing something in 1,000 words when it can be explained in 50 words; however I do think that membership websites should cover all aspects of a subject so that beginners are not lost.

Where I think I could excel over other membership websites is support; however support is one of the most time-consuming things that anyone can provide. If I spent all day helping others on a forum, I would be unable to develop new books and products. This is the main reason why very few membership websites provide support. They occasionally provide an unsupported discussion forum, however there is rarely any guarantee that someone will help you with any issues you have.

Books

I have enjoyed releasing a couple of books this year. It allows me to reach an audience that I may not have reached online. From a customer’s point of view, it offers the best value for money. It is also the most practical as membership websites usually force content to be read online. Whereas a book can be viewed on desktops, tablets, eBook readers and mobile phones.

Unfortunately, it is not the most profitable way for me to make money through my content (assuming I continue to focus on web development related topics such as blogging, marketing and WordPress). One problem is that the success of Amazon has attracted many more authors: some good, many not so good. Regardless of the quality of books being released, there is no doubt that the number of books being released every week has increased. This means that there are more authors fighting for the attention of readers.

Release All Content Free

Releasing premium content free may seem like a crazy idea when there is a profitable market for the type of content I am writing. Why would I spend several hours a day researching and writing content and then simply publish it?

That is exactly what I have been considering. I am keen to publish detailed guides on KevinMuldoon.com that will help bloggers and website owners tackle common issues. Although, technically I would be publishing content free, I can make money from it. Specifically, the additional content would increase page views here. This helps raise my profile and would increase revenue from banner sales, increase commissions from affiliate links and increase the number of people who sign up to my newsletter. In the long-term, developing a large email list will also give me the opportunity to successfully launch a premium product in the future.

Later, I may publish my books online free as well. My books would still be available through bookshops such as Amazon, though everyone would be able to read the content on my website free. It is possible that the increased revenue that this could generate would be higher than the revenue I am currently earning through my books.

Trial & Error

One size rarely fits all. What works for me may not work for you. So do not be discouraged from launching a membership website if that is what you are planning on doing.

At this point, I am not going to commit to anything long-term. What I hope to do over the next month is complete one or two guides for KevinMuldoon.com. I can then see how they have been received and then re-evaluate my position.

As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on this issue. So please leave a comment and let me know what you think is the best way to profit from premium content 🙂

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About Kevin Muldoon

My name is Kevin and this is my blog :) I am an experienced blogger who has been working online actively since 2000. Through this blog I talk about internet marketing, technology and travelling. You can get updates to this blog by subscribing via RSS or Email. Alternatively, you can follow me on Google+, Facebook or Twitter.

Comments

This may sound like a simpleton’s view of things, but why choose only one? Wouldn’t it be possible to do all three simultaneously?

You could have KevinMuldoon.com as the “outdoor student” part of your empire, where the unsure, the curious and the stumblers come to see what you have to offer. If they, like so many others, decide that what you have to say is worth something then you have your “indoor” candidate, not to mention the abundant supply of present readers – I would think that’s your goldmine right there, at least in the beginning. Meanwhile the tire-kickers will see your cleverly-placed ads for your ebooks.

You could publish your premium content as ebooks, give little pieces of it away on your “outdoor” site and of course offer it to your paid members for free.

What my thinking was, rather than create a membership website where all content was hidden behind closed doors, I could offer all content free. I could then develop a private discussion forum in which members get advice and help with common problems. I’d have to get the numbers right. If too few people joined, it would not be worth my time. If too many sign up, I don’t think I would be offering a good service.

Alternatively, I could keep the monthly cost low and try and get more people to sign up….but with no guarantee with direct help etc. I think there are a few ways I could do it.

Regariding Disraeli’s quote: I also believed that “knowledge = power” but after having read Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” last year I believe that not to be true. Knowledge + action = power. And you actually support that when you write in your article: “There are a number of ways in which someone with experience can make a living. For example, you could help businesses solve technical problems that no one within their business could resolve.” Your example is basically applied knowledge 🙂

I’m still not sure what route I would go down. I have a few ideas. My hope is to find time to finish my book about optimising WordPress websites. If I had to launch that as a membership course, I could offer support in that area. Though I am aware that many people would simply want me to do things for them, which I cannot do.

As you rightly point out, support is very time-consuming. So I’d have to get the pricing and topic etc correct. Another route would be to focus on blogging. I could help users with technical issues when needed and point them in the right direction with their blogs. This kind of hands-on approach to support cannot be done cheap; so I’d have to focus on a very niche market. That is, people who would be willing to pay money to get premium support when they need it.

A Membership site is where you could make the big money, if you have great content and add new content regularly. I think a software app membership site could be the most lucrative due to users “needing” to use the software everyday like SEO tools, keyword tools and social media managers but a content membership site can your key to early retirement as well. 🙂

A couple years ago, I was a member of a site (not named to protect the innocent) which charged $33 per month for access to content, a forum and monthly webinars. At the time, there were about 2000 members which grossed them about $66k per month. At $66k, they could hire coders, forum mods and others to help maintain the site and just make an appearance from time to time in the forums and do the monthly webinar. Must have been a sweet gig!

On the other hand, I have MAJOR respect for the guys that build based on the FREE content method and turn it into something HUGE. Examples: Pat Flynn (Smart Passive Income), Spencer Haws (Niche Pursuits) and Matthew Woodward (producing excellent tutorials). It takes time to build a large following through email lists, Twitter, Facebook or whatever but the long-term effect can be extremely beneficial to your business.

It’s funny you mention your WordPress optimization guide as I just wrote a 4400 word guide on how and where to implement keywords in WordPress for the best SEO tactics. I went the free route and give it away with newsletter sign up or as a bonus to one of my services.

You make a good point about providing tools for every day use. I know ShoeMoney has done that on a few of his products and many people kept using it because the scripts were so useful.

If I went down the forum route, my hope was to generate enough income from the website so that I can then hire coders etc to support members. $30 a month is not a lot of money if it granted you access to technical help. Sounds like that forum had a great business model. I’d love to work on something like that full-time, though I’d definitely have to start small and scale it up.

I’m a big fan of the way Pat Flynn is doing things too. If you get enough traffic, you can make a great income from affiliate commissions alone. So you’d never have to worry about support issues etc. All you would have to do is focus on providing great content; which is something I enjoy.

It definitely takes time to build up that sort of following. My dedication to this blog has slowed a little over the last few months as I have been working on other things. Though I love writing for my own blog. I’ve been quite lucky so far in that I haven’t attracted any a’holes here. Everyone has been supportive and appreciative of what I am doing.

Looks like you have a great blog. Your article on content mills is very interesting. I agree 100% that many writers are cutting themselves short and not charging enough.

Thanks for checking out my site and linking to it. I only started that site in August, so I have a lot of work to do. I’m actually in the same boat as you but only on a much smaller scale at this point. I’m thinking free content + video tutorials for my site.

I come from an IT background and ran my own computer consulting business for 14 years, sold it and now dabble in many things online. I decided to focus on freelance writing and some other services for now with more plans on the horizon. I read your book, “The Art of Freelance Blogging” and Tom Ewer’s book as well and I appreciate the hard work you put into a $2.99 book. It was a great read.

I too have a book on Amazon which I sell for $2.99. It’s not stuffing my pockets with money at that price, but it does pay my monthly hosting and buys me a coffee or two. 🙂

My book is a Virus and Malware removal guide. I also made 21 videos to go along with it. I probably should have started a membership website, but I sold that business and was looking to get out. The book was basically a brain dump before I began learning new things.

After 14 years running the same business, in the same city, I realized I know technology, so why am I not running an online business? Time to move about the country.

I think there’s no such thing as *the best platform* to profit from premium content. At least I hope there isn’t because that would be too bad for the ones who aren’t really in favor of that specific platform that’s considered ‘the best’ 🙂

If we look around we can usually see that one can benefit pretty much from all platforms out there: membership site, blog, ebook,… The question therefore is: “What platform suites me best? Which one supports my better in providing epic content and sharing it with the ones who are interested?”

Also important, IMHO, is the problem that you are solving, or: the niche you are tackling. The bigger the problem you can solve, the better you will be able to also benefit from it financially. Of course, that leads to another aspect: making money, ideally, is a (very positive) by-product of the fact that one is helping people with problems, fears or passions.

I would have also pointed out Pat Flynn Troy was first in doing so. As you can see there he earns money with pretty much everything (with the exception of a membership site for the time being, as far as I know):

If you go the blog-route, I believe it’s crucial to think upfront where you want the journey to go, meaning: the better you know upfront what kind of content you want to publish and how you want to help people, the easier it will be to set up a structure upfront. This structure, in the end, will make it so much easier for people to hanf around on your blog, go from one article to the other and find information in a structured way. And that is, in my opinion, the only way (I can think of) of adressing what you write above: “Even with a featured posts page, I believe a lot of good content gets lost due to the chronological nature of blogging itself.”

I do believe in the potential of a websites that hovers around a certain theme, be it a blog where you show your actual face or be it a niche website where you ‘simply’ release good content that ranks high for good keywords (but on which you don’t show your face/personality). But the better the structure (aka “user friendliness”) the better I believe will be the return on investment. Of course, great content on the website is a given. The challenge is that once one has started and released a bunch of content and only afterwards comes up with the thought of a structure, it will be pretty difficult to reorganize the whole info… I know that because one of my websites is such a ‘mess’… 🙁

One thing we have to admit: there is nowadays absolutely no lack anymore in websites in the ‘how to make money online’ business so it’s getting really, really tough to make it in this joungle. I think your chances are much better in this case if you write about own projects that you completed successfully and wrap this up in an article or a small article series. Interviews with others who ‘have made it’ might also still be good to draw people to your website and, in the end, make some money through the resources you suggest etc.

One thing I wanted to ask, because it kind of suprises me: I see that your kevinmuldoon.com website has an Alexa rank of currently a bit over 89.000. I don’t know how much traffic that means per day and I also don’t know how exactly Alexa rank is being calculated but according to my understanding it has a lot to do with the daily amount of visitors. My best website currently is at around 380.000 and it has, on average, somewhere around 1200-1500 visitors per day. So you have like, I don’t know… 5000 visitors per day on this website? If so then I would say there’s lots of potential to monetize your site way more! Of course, it’s almost an ‘art’ how to do that without being salesy and pushy.

Just to clarify, I’m really not thinking about marketing towards the “make money online” niche. Perhaps a lot of my content will cross over to that territory, though I’d like to see the content I write as more practical (though maybe I’m the wrong one to judge that).

This blog doesn’t get anywhere close to 5,000 visitors. It’s less than 10% of that at the moment. I believe traffic is sufficient for monetisation, however if I can increase traffic up to a few thousand visitors per day, I will open a lot more doors for myself.

I think you are correct about structuring content. That is why I’m keen on focusing on guides etc. I have written series of posts in the past, though they can easily get lost in the archives. A guides section would make it easier to find useful content.

I’m still not 100% on anything. Not that I’m being indecisive (ok, maybe a little), I just have a few other routes to follow. Currently, this blog is not that structured. When I see something interesting, I post about it. I’d like to keep the blog fresh in that way and use the guides section to write series of posts.

I am happy to read that I could offer some valuable thoughts, Kevin. Not that I would say I am a person who knows, becase I ain’t, at all. I am also still completely in the trial & error phase. But it’s a fun ride, at least way more fun than the regular 9-5 job I am working in ‘next to my projects’…

And, of course, it’s always way easier to write and share my opinion than actually doing it 😀

It’s something I’m aware of too. I’d rather not waste too much time whilst I’m in “Work Mode”. That gives me more free time at night to relax, which I think is vital if you are a writer. If you are constantly writing and have no time to chill out, your writing will suffer.